Stocks Fall as Market Lacks Direction, Stocks to Watch: RENN, QPSA, SINA, BGCP, MOTR, DEXO

Stocks are down in early trading as the market lacks direction. A slow day with no major news has investors mostly taking a break and getting ready for the weekend. Friday’s are notoriously down days as many investors don’t like holding positions over the weekend.

Oil prices are also falling today after they saw a spike yesterday on reports of a Saudi pipeline explosion. These reports were later said to be false according to a Saudi oil minister. Oil prices are still high though and are trading above $107/barrel.

Yelp! Inc. (NYSE:YELP) had its IPO this morning and shares soared 60%. Shares of YELP are currently trading at $24.77.

As we take a look at the main indices this morning the Dow is down 31 points, the Nasdaq is down 2 points and the S&P 500 is down 3 points.

Renren Inc. (NYSE:RENN) is up 7.66% this morning at $5.89. RENN hit an intraday high of $6.09 shortly after market open with 7.1 million shares traded. The stock trades about 7.9 million shares a day on average. Renren announced the first SNS application in Microsoft Windows 8 store. The company has a market cap of 2.34 billion.

Quepasa Corporation (AMEX:QPSA) is up 8.72% in early trading at $4.4139. QPSA has traded 613 thousand shares already today, above its average of 597 thousand shares. Quepasa announced fourth quarter results after market close yesterday. The company posted record revenue of $6.3 million in the fourth quarter. Revenue for the full year was $11.9 million. The company has a market cap of 151.17 million.

Sina Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA) is up 8.11% today at $75.42. SINA has traded 3.2 million shares so far this morning and trades 5.5 million shares a day on average. SINA shares have jumped about $15 a share in the past week after CEO of Sina says Weibo to provide revenue this year. The company has a market cap of 4.94 billion.

BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) is up 6.42% this morning at $7.46. BGCP is up on heavy volume today with 1.7 million shares traded, more than double its average volume. BGCP shares are up more than $1 a share this year. The company has a market cap of 991.39 million.

Motricity, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOTR) is down 13.64% today at $1.1399. MOTR has traded 968 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.7 million shares a day on average. Motricity reported fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 results late yesterday. Revenue was $24.5 million, down from $36.0 million last year. For the full year revenue fell 9% to $121.7 million compared to 2010. The company has a market cap of 51.89 million.

Dex One Corporation (NYSE:DEXO) is down 6.25% today at $1.6875. DEXO has traded 622 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.4 million shares a day on average. DEXO are slipping today after reporting fourth quarter results within guidance yesterday. The company has a market cap of 84.90 million.